Chapter 50: Designated Request
An ordeal, huh? That’s the same logic as those scumbags who call bullying ‘teasing’.
Remembering those guys who shot fireworks at us makes me sick.
In that case, maybe I’ll give them an ordeal of enduring torture.
“So… an ordeal, huh? A fine word. I’ll give you lot that same ordeal. It’ll continue until you remove your user registration, so prepare yourselves.”
“Hey, hey, are you a thief?”
“Looks like you want to become a criminal slave.”
“If you release us here, we’ll overlook this incident.”
“No, no, remember what you did to them. You’re the criminal slaves, so I don’t need you to overlook anything. Since you made such a kind offer, shall I start with you?”
I grabbed his uninjured leg, dragged him out, removed his boot, and smashed his toes with the back of my short sword.
He groaned, 《Ugh,》 but glared at me with a face that said, ‘Is this all?’
So, I removed his other boot and smashed those toes too.
This time, he just clenched his teeth and glared, so I smashed the fingers on his unbroken arm.
“After I crush your fingers and toes, I’ll crush your wrists and ankles. Next, I’ll break your leg bones, shatter your jaw, and then leave you. Don’t worry, the Beasts will take care of the rest.”
As I said that and smashed the fingers on his broken arm, he finally seemed to realize I was serious.
His face changed color as he looked at me, but I silently grabbed the man’s leg and slammed the short sword onto his ankle.
“W-wait! I’ll remove it, I’ll remove it, so please spare me!”
“If you were going to do as I said, you should have done it from the start.”
“Which one is your Magic Pouch?”
I smeared the gushing blood on the Magic Pouch, brought it to the man’s mouth, and made him remove the user registration.
Spreading out a camping robe, I turned the Magic Pouch upside down, emptied its contents, placed the empty Magic Pouch on top, and moved on to the next guy.
He glared defiantly, spat, 《Pfft,》 and blustered, 《Kill me!》
“Fine resolve. I’ll grant your wish.”
I asked the two watching what I was doing to gather firewood and assigned Hoo-chan as their guard.
The third one, when our eyes met, looked around nervously and tearfully pleaded, “I don’t have a Magic Pouch, so please forgive me.”
The last one, the moment our eyes met, was an obedient fellow who said, 《I’ll remove it, so please spare me.》
I turned over the Magic Pouch with its user registration removed.
This guy’s belongings also consisted mostly of clothes and Adventurer essentials, and among the miscellaneous items were multiple swords and knives.
I don’t know if it was a side job or a hobby, but it was clear he wasn’t a decent Adventurer, and ‘ordeals’ as a game don’t suit my tastes.
I cut down a tall tree and tied the outstretched limbs of the man who had screamed ‘Kill me!’ to it.
When I tied him up at the neck, armpits, stomach, and thighs so he couldn’t move, the man, perhaps finally feeling uneasy, started to yell, so I immediately stuffed a rag into his mouth.
They brought the firewood I’d asked for, so I piled it up and lit it.
At this point, he seemed to understand what I was planning to do.
He desperately writhed and mumbled, “Ooh, ooh,” but I paid him no mind.
There wasn’t much firewood, but it made a flame about right for roasting skewered meat, so I lifted the pole the man was tied to and brought his feet towards the fire.
Ever since I gained Super Strength, lifting a grown man is a light task and no trouble at all.
Mumbling “Ooh, ooh,” he desperately shook his head and pleaded with his eyes.
“You’re noisy. As you wished, I’ll kill you slowly. I’ll half-roast you, just enough so you don’t die, and make sure you stay alive until the Beasts devour you.”
He desperately shook his head at my words.
“What, are you scared of dying now?”
He nodded vigorously, “Un, un,” so I took the rag out of his mouth.
“I’ll remove it. So please, just spare me the burning at the stake.”
You should have just done that from the start, making me go through all this trouble.
The bleeding from Mii-chan’s claw marks had stopped, so I kicked him to make him bleed again.
He looked at the Magic Pouch brought to his mouth with a resentful expression and muttered something, removing the user registration.
This man’s belongings were similar, and since I had no intention of letting him live anyway, I kicked him away.
It seemed too much to make the two sitting down walk for a long time, so we’d camp nearby for the night.
I had the two, who were watching what I was doing with fearful expressions, collect the thugs’ leather pouches.
“Isn’t this… an act of thievery?”
“You two were just attacked. I merely couldn’t overlook thievery and helped you. Those who are about to die don’t need money. Besides, this is compensation for the damages inflicted upon you. Don’t touch anything other than the money. If you’re caught with suspicious items and mistaken for thieves, the interrogation will be a pain.”
“Hey, I removed the user registration on the Magic Pouch, help me out!”
“Please! I’ll never do anything like this again!”
“Aren’t you going to help us?!”
“Yeah, I won’t kill you. Just like you enjoyed making them fight Goblins, I’ll just make you fight Beasts. Stark naked and unarmed.”
Some sort of curses leaked out, but they sounded like mere Buddhist prayers to me.
I had them throw everything but the money into an empty Magic Pouch, and as a farewell, I nicked their Achilles tendons before leaving them.
We walked towards Zandra for about an hour, then found a good spot for a campsite, set up a barrier, and let the four of them rest inside.
“Um~, we have to do something about our leaders…”
“Do you think you can get back to the scene before sunset? Even if you do, do you think they’ll be alive?”
“That’s…”
“If you’ve started the Adventurer business, you should have some resolve. The ones who attacked you will become prey for Beasts and die. I’ve taken revenge for you, so give up on that.”
I gave them three empty Magic Pouches and taught them how to register as users.
On the way here, I threw away all the thugs’ belongings that I had put into the Magic Pouches.
I also unhesitatingly discarded items whose user registration couldn’t be removed, so only money and three Magic Pouches remained in their hands.
I had the dejected group eat and then let them sleep.
I had Hoo-chan and the others wait by my bedside, and holding Mii-chan, I went to sleep. But at times like these, I really want some ale.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
We walked towards Zandra, and I defeated every Beast we encountered, tossing them into my Magic Bag.
For those my Domination doesn’t work on, I can just fight and defeat them normally, but I don’t want them to see me stopping their movements with Domination and then defeating them.
It can’t be helped, so in front of them, I fight using my Agility and Super Strength to the fullest, but the Short Spear is too light and difficult to wield.
We arrived in town past noon, so I left Hoo-chan and the others and entered, but I made sure to tell the adventurers to keep quiet about what happened.
Upon arriving at the Adventurers Guild, I took them straight to the dismantling area.
“Quite the unusual group again, huh?”
“Well, yeah. Where should I put these?”
I lined up the game in the designated spot.
Flame Dog: 8
Howl Dog: 7
Carrion: 4
Horn Boar: 2
Elk: 1
“All of today’s haul belongs to them, so please take care of it.”
Before entering the town, I’d told them it was hush money, so after saying that, I parted ways with them.
“Shinya-san, thank you so very much.”
Being told that with the deepest bow made my back feel tingly.
“Yeah, if you don’t want to die, don’t let your guard down and hone your skills more.”
Saying that, I left the dismantling area, resisting my desire for ale, and was about to leave the Guild…
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an unpleasant face.
“Hold on a minute, you’re Shinya, right?” a voice called out.
“What is it, Guild Master?”
“Show me your Guild Card!”
“Again? I haven’t brought in any particularly impressive hauls, you know.”
I said sarcastically while reluctantly handing over my Guild Card, but it was snatched from me.
He handed it to the receptionist, saying, “He’s D-rank.”
“As of today, you’re Silver class, but I have something to discuss, so come to my room.”
A~ah, a silver card, huh? This is why I hated ranking up.
If I suddenly get a Designated Request now, I’m definitely refusing it.
Following the Guild Master into his office, he said, “You did well finding his whereabouts.”
“It’s not like I was looking for him. I was just asked a favor by an acquaintance, and he happened to be where I went.”
“But he’s an A-rank Gold. You did well to capture him.”
“I was just lucky.”
“His bounty has been transferred to your account, so check it. Also, now that you’re Silver, Designated Requests will come your way, but…”
“I refuse! I’m practically living on luck alone as it is, so I’d rather not get involved in any life-or-death struggles.”
“Just hear me out. It’s an easier job than Beast subjugation. Besides, it’s a place you know.”
“A place I know?”
“They’re a party that drifted into the Guild in Holm, Territory of Elzart, including two skilled magic users. It seems they’re having trouble with the feudal lord, but we can’t get a handle on them.”
“That makes it even less of my business. Even if, by some miracle, it did concern me, I refuse to kneel before that stingy count.”
“Stingy?”
“That’s precisely related to him. I was made to go see him while he was sitting on that chair, as a decoy, you see. The Count’s request at that time was for 10 Gold Coins. Since there were two of us back then, he arrogantly told us to do a job where we’d risk our lives for 5 Gold Coins each. If it went well, he would be the one getting a prestigious job from the King, you know.”
“But you accepted it, didn’t you?”
“The Holm Guild also said it was 10 Gold Coins, and besides, I had a grudge against him more than anything. If you’re having trouble with that Count, why don’t you just leave him be?”
“From the Guild’s perspective, having trouble with a feudal lord is problematic. It seems they’re especially having a hard time dealing with those two called Hirokun and Ellie.”
“I refuse. There shouldn’t be any problem even if I refuse a Designated Request… What did you say?”
“Having trouble with the lord is problematic; if we use your Killer Bees…”
“No, after that! What did you say their names were!”
“You mean those two mages, Hirokun and Ellie?”